Mixed-milk Mona paces new sheep's-milk trend

Published 4:00 am, Sunday, November 13, 2011

Mona, a sheep/cow's milk as seen in San Francisco, California, on October 26, 2011.

Mona, a sheep/cow's milk as seen in San Francisco, California, on October 26, 2011.

Photo: Craig Lee, Special To The Chronicle

Mixed-milk Mona paces new sheep's-milk trend

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The growing availability of sheep's milk and American-made sheep's milk cheese is one of the most exciting trends in the domestic cheese world. Until recent times, America's sheep ranchers raised primarily breeds prized for their wool or their meat. Dairy breeds like East Friesian and Lacaune hardly existed here.

But that's changing. Slowly but steadily, small farms in Wisconsin, California, Minnesota and elsewhere are building up flocks of dairy breeds, so more sheep cheese is certainly in America's future.

One of the pioneers on this front is the Wisconsin Sheep Dairy Cooperative, established in the mid-1990s and now counting 14 member farms. The cooperative sells some of its milk to cheese makers and produces cheese of its own, including the critically acclaimed Dante, an aged sheep's milk wheel that I have written about in the past.

Mona, a mixed-milk cheese from the cooperative, has been showing up lately at a few Bay Area retail counters, so I have had the chance to get to know it. A 10-pound wheel made from pasteurized sheep's and cow's milk in equal parts, Mona reminds me of a cross between Manchego and Monterey Dry Jack. Like both of those cheeses, it has a sturdy, dry, clean-breaking texture with pinhead-size openings in the paste.

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The aroma hints at warm butter and caramel, typical of many aged sheep's milk cheeses but without any of the lanolin or lamb chop scent that Manchego and its relatives sometimes have. The flavors are big and concentrated, rich in umami and not shy on salt, with a pleasing zing of acidity in the finish. Bob Wills of Cedar Grove Cheese, the creamery that makes both Mona and Dante for the cooperative, is a certified master cheesemaker, a Wisconsin credential that requires many years of experience and study.

Before they go into the aging cellar for a minimum of six months, wheels of Mona get a thin cloak of a breathable food-grade polymer. This harmless coating keeps external mold growth to a minimum and labor costs down because the wheels don't have to be repeatedly cleaned. Many cheese makers use it, but I can't help wondering if Mona would develop even more complexity and character if matured with a natural rind. Maybe one day we'll find out.

Look for Mona at Cheese Plus, Other Avenues and Cowgirl Creamery in San Francisco; Epicurean Selection in Sonoma; and Oxbow Cheese Merchant in Napa. This well-balanced cheese is likely to complement almost any red wine with some heft and intensity. A Zinfandel or Spanish Garnacha would be a good place to start.

Next up: Next up: Ocooch Mountain, an aged sheep's milk wheel from Wisconsin.